Executed Irish soldiers close to British pardon

NEARLY 90 years after they were executed for minor offences, 26 Irish soldiers who fought in WWI are close to being pardoned by the British Government.

A group campaigning on behalf of the soldiers yesterday released information which had been hidden for 90 years, showing British officers were granted pardons in WWI for offences such as cowardice, drunkenness and absenteeism. However, Irish soldiers in the British Army were executed for minor offences, such as being absent from parade.

The British Ministry of Defence had always claimed it was not legally possible to issue a retrospective pardon.

However, campaigner and founder of the Shot at Dawn Ireland group Peter Mulvany said: “There is now no logical basis for the British retaining their present policy of not granting pardons to the soldiers.”

Last November, Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowan expressed his support for the campaign to pardon the soldiers. Since then, the British Ministry of Defence has handed over the personal files of the executed soldiers to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

A Department spokesman said the research was “good news”. He said that officials would be contacting the British Ministry of Defence once all the files had been examined.

The new information was uncovered by Dr Gerard Oram and Julian Putkowski, who examined the records of 6,500 British officers courtmartialed in WWI for a book. Six British officers were granted full pardons, while dozens of others had their sentences commuted.

“Surely in the light of this new information and with the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I this year, it is possible for minds to change and finally resolve this issue with dignity for all concerned?” Mr Mulvany asked.

Previous research by Dr Oram showed Irish soldiers accounted for 2% of the British Army’s intake but made up 8% of the troops executed.